The Three Managers: Indispensable Profiles to Understand Your Boss
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Here at ManageBetter, we’ve found it useful to define managers into three archetypes:
🚗 Drivers
😇 Saints
😅 First-timers
This classification is not meant for managers. Instead, it’s to help those that work with managers to understand a manager’s underlying motivations. From here, we can better propose how to best meet their needs and wants.
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🚗 Drivers
Drivers are focused on meeting or exceeding team goals. As a result, they will look to optimize their team as much as they can. This can include:
Training
Streamlining processes
Providing coaching and feedback
Setting and monitoring team KPIs
You’re most likely to find drivers when they:
Have pressure to perform
Shoulder a lot of responsibility
This includes CEOs, CXOs, and other executives at the director-level or higher. You can also find drivers among front-line managers especially if they are either ambitious or hold high standards for themselves.
There are many alternate names for drivers.
You’re also more likely to find drivers among low-margin industries marked with intense competition. You’re less likely to find drivers in organizations that have plateaued and content with maintaining the status quo.
Drivers are the largest of the three manager archetypes. According to our poll of 558 respondents, 45% of managers are classified as drivers.
Alternate Names for Drivers
Fixers, cleaners, or mechanics are alternate names for drivers. They’re the ones who fix problems others don’t want to touch. It’s not sexy, but what they do is top of mind for those at the top. They fix things not because they’re bored. They fix because they’ve been tasked to do so, usually because it relates to a goal that a senior person wants to meet or exceed.
Lubricant managers minimize friction between teams and people. They’re also known as glue managers because they tie things together. I consider them drivers too; they ultimately care about corporate goals and discovering ways to optimize teams to achieve those.
😇 Saints
Saints love mentoring. They go the extra mile when it comes to coaching. This can include spending more time:
Teaching esp. with technical details
Spending extra time with their directs
Developing detailed career plans for their team
Maintaining manager-employee relationships for the long-term
You’re more likely to find saints when a manager meets any combination of characteristics below:
Intellectually curious
Loves sharing information
Cares deeply about interpersonal relationships
Believes life is too short to focus only on corporate objectives
You’re also more likely to find saints who are away from the pressure to perform. Managers who are under the gun end up forgoing their coaching tendencies.
Most employees love saints. Who doesn’t like a manager who cares or provides extra attention? And while some employees don’t like it when their manager teaches them how to do their job, a good chunk appreciate having clear guidance on how to accomplish an objective, especially if it’s an intimidating one.
Unfortunately, most organizations do not appreciate saints. They feel that the time they’re spending mentoring employees could be better used elsewhere.
Saints are 29% of all managers.
Alternate Names for Saints
Rebel manager is an alternate name for saint. Because of their strong individuality, rebels will indulge in sharing their favorite approach with others.
Ironically, while rebels are saints themselves, they hate having saint bosses. Why listen to someone else’s feedback when they can listen to their own?
Revver is an another alternate name for saint. They make a lot of noise and use a lot of buzzwords. But they rarely get things done. In other words, revvers wants to be perceived and rewarded like a holy person but their copious coaching efforts are simply ineffective.
😅 First-timers
First-time managers could be a saint or driver, but more often than not, they don’t to screw up. Their imposter syndrome is ringing loud. They hope they get accepted and constantly feel that they’re just one step away from demoted back to an individual contributor.
They consult books, the Internet, and templates on how to be a good manager. Sometimes they act indecisively. Other times they act too rashly. Their team might complain that the first-timer is “overdoing the manager thing.”
Larger companies have new manager training. It often revolves around giving feedback (“Difficult Conversations”) and situational leadership. The results are mixed, typically because there’s not enough practice and role play. Some trainers allow these sessions to become venting forums.
When does a new manager shed the first-timer label? According to our interviews, there’s no hard cutoff. For many employees, a first-timer often describes someone who isn’t effective as a manager.
First-timers are 26% of all managers.
Overlap & Mutability
These definitions are not mutually exclusive. For example, a first-timer can be a driver and/or coach.
A manager can also mutate their role depending on the situation. For example, a manager who’s involved in an emergency may have to adopt a driver role. Or a manager may start over at a new company where drivers are frowned upon. As a result, they’ll have to play more of a saint role.
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